In the first 3 months your baby will be attracted by faces, bright lights and colours, stripes, dots and patterns, but not understand what they're seeing. They'll first recognise that eyes, nose and mouth make a face. Then your baby will begin to recognise particular faces and other things like their teddy.
Your newborn's head will be wobbly at first and movements will be jerky. But soon your baby will be able to lift his or her head and chest while lying on his or her stomach, as well as stretch and kick his or her legs in that position. If you offer a toy, your baby might grasp it and hold on tight for a few moments.
The first three months of life are all about eating, sleeping and crying. But you can also look forward to baby lifting her head, making silly sounds and giving you a real first smile. Here's what most babies can do by the time they are 4 months old.
Babies start rolling over as early as 4 months old. They will rock from side to side, a motion that is the foundation for rolling over. They may also roll over from tummy to back. At 6 months old, babies will typically roll over in both directions.
Rolling over, crawling, walking, and talking are all considered milestones. The milestones are different for each age range. There is a normal range in which a child may reach each milestone. For example, walking may begin as early as 8 months in some children.
Alert babies are very active, wilful, determined, prone to temper tantrums, take everything in and they need stronger boundaries. They have a difficult time handling their emotions.
While there's a lot to learn as a first-time mom, a baby is only considered a newborn for his first 2-3 months of life. Next is the infant stage, which lasts until your baby turns 1 year old.
Contrary to popular myth, it's impossible for parents to hold or respond to a baby too much, child development experts say. Infants need constant attention to give them the foundation to grow emotionally, physically and intellectually.
Spend time with your baby: try reading and telling stories, talking and singing. Doing these things every day also helps your baby get familiar with sounds and words. This develops language and communication skills your baby will need when they're older.
Smile, stick out your tongue, and make other expressions for your infant to study, learn, and imitate. Use a favorite toy for your newborn to focus on and follow, or shake a rattle for your infant to find. Let your baby spend some awake time lying on the tummy to help strengthen the neck and shoulders.
Right from birth, a baby can recognize their parent's voice and smell, says Dr. Laible. The next step is linking those sounds and smells with something they can see. That's why they'll start studying your face as if they're trying to memorize it.
But many first-time parents find that after the first month of parenthood, it can actually get more difficult. This surprising truth is one reason many experts refer to a baby's first three months of life as the “fourth trimester.” If months two, three, and beyond are tougher than you expected, you're not alone.
Sleepless nights are common in new parenthood, but they do not last forever. Most babies will begin to sleep for longer periods at night from the age of 6 months old. Newborn babies need to feed every few hours until the age of 3 months. After this, it is normal for infants to feed once or twice during the night.
There are no set rules about how long to wait before taking a newborn out into the world or when to let people near the baby. Some doctors recommend that parents wait until their baby is a few months old before going to crowded public places (like malls, movie theaters, and airplanes).
Your baby feels unusually hot (fever), cold or floppy. Your baby cries in an unusual way or for an unusually long time or seems to be in pain. You notice any bleeding from the nose or any bruising. Your baby keeps refusing feeds or continues to vomit up feeds.
Extremely curious. Yes, children can be curious little things. But one of the signs of an intelligent baby (exceptionally so) is that their questions are exceptional too. Their questions could be so complex that they could even stump you, sending you on a quest to the library or Google to find the answer.
Your baby's first year is one full of developmental milestones. These are skills like rolling over, sitting up and first steps. It's also things like smiling, cooing and waving “bye-bye.” Each of these milestones are things most children do by a certain age.
Smell. The brain's olfactory (smell) center forms very early in fetal development. Studies have found that newborns have a keen sense of smell.
You should stop swaddling your baby when he starts attempting to roll over. Many babies start working on this move at about 2 months old. Swaddling once your baby can roll over may increase the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and suffocation.
Side or stomach sleeping can lead to injury, SIDS, or suffocation. All babies should be put on their backs for bedtime and naps. If your baby is less than 1-year-old and rolls over onto their side or stomach at night, reposition them onto their back.